***EDIT: we’ve had a few readers have problems with the coasters sticking to each other when stacked, so we’ve created an update on how to make coasters with an epoxy finish (there’s sure to be no stick there!).***

Step 1: Apply 1 coat of Mod Podge to front of tile

Apply a thin layer of Mod Podge to the front of each tile, making sure to spread it all the way to the edges. (Note: This step is important! We made the mistake of skipping it on the first couple coasters, and the photo didn’t feel like it was fully adhered to the tile in the finished product.)

Step 2: Place photo on the wet Mod Podge

Place a photo on top of the wet coat of Mod Podge from step 1, and let it dry for about 5 minutes. (Decorating your photo with washi tape is optional, but it’s an easy way to add a fun & unique twist!)

Step 3: Apply 3 coats of Mod Podge to back of tile

This part is a little tricky with the washi tape. When you apply your first coat of Mod Podge to the back of the coasters, it may seem like the the tape is starting to unstick from the coaster. Just wait about 5 minutes until the first coat of Mod Podge has started to dry and become tacky, and press the washi tape down with your finger. Wait about 15 minutes in between each coat of Mod Podge.

**We’ve created an update on how to make coasters with an epoxy finish. Perfect for a no-stick finish :)**

Step 4: Apply 3 coats of Mod Podge to front of tile

Apply 3 coats of Mod Podge, again waiting about 15 minutes between each coat. Apply each coat as a thin layer, making sure to wrap all the way around to the sides, and smoothing out the front. It’ll look very opaque until it dries, but rest assured that it will dry clear!

Step 5: Stick felt pads to the bottom of each coaster

The felt pads just help to make sure that the coasters don’t scratch your table.

Step 6: Let sit for 3 days before using

It’s normal for Mod Podge to feel tacky for several days after it dries. If you wait about 3 days, you’ll give the coasters plenty of time to seal completely & make sure no water will seep in.

I love the way these turned out, and they make me smile whenever I see them on my coffee table. With the right photos, coasters like these are going to make great DIY Christmas gifts!

As Cardstore’s art director, Jessica helps create all the cards featured on the site. She loves typography, photography, and (most of all) her 2-year-old son, Carter. She never leaves home without her camera and a cup of coffee. View all posts by Jessica B »

Hi there! Yes, I definitely think you can use any type of mod podge on these coasters. Each will give the finished product a slightly different feel, but they will all seal the photo the same. I actually updated the post to just say ‘mod podge’ and not ‘satin mod podge’ in case others are wondering the same thing :)

I haven’t tried regular printing paper, so I’m not sure. I imagine it would be ok, you might just have to be careful that it doesn’t wrinkle when applying the Mod Podge. If you do try it, stop back and let us know how it turned out!

Hi Ladies, I used regular printing paper and put the mod podge on the back of the paper and was very careful and it turned out great. I was actually looking for the answer to see if I need to seal it after and stumbled across this. you all are very helpful to me. Thank you!! :)

I only sealed mine with Mod Podge (didn’t use an additional waterproof sealant), so I can’t personally vouch for any of these products, but I’ve seen several other articles mention Krylon Aerosol and Envirotex. Make sure to follow the product’s directions or look up instructions if you use them – I’m not sure how to apply either. Hope that helps!

Hi Kelly, sorry to hear you are experiencing problems! We would love to help you if we can. It sounds like you are having problems with the felt pads Jessica suggested applying to the bottom so you don’t scratch your table. These should be applied directly to the bottom of the coaster, not to a surface with paper or picture. Can you explain more of exactly what happened so that we can help?

Hi I have a problem, is there any way to fix the coasters?, the problem is that they stick to the coffee mug when it’s filled with hot coffee. I’ve added a clear sealer also krylon flat clear. But they stick to the mugs with the sealer and without.

Hi Scott, I’m so sorry your coasters are sticking to your hot coffee mugs. I see you tried a krylon coat, have you tried any other brands of a clear acrylic sealer? I’ve read from other other bloggers, this sealer has worked for them. Remember to apply 2 coats and allow a full 24 hours to dry. I hope this is helpful!

Hi Sarah, I believe it should work. I don’t have direct experience with high gloss tiles, but I have used it on top of (dried) acrylic paint before to put images down and it worked just fine. I’ve heard it works best on porous surfaces and paper, but I think the picture would count as that surface!

If you decide to try it, please stop back and let us know how it turned out!

How have your coasters held up against hot beverages? I’ve read from other articles that without an extra sealer (e.g. Mod Podge Dimensional Magic or a clear acrylic sealer), hot beverages can actually ruin the photo on the coaster. I was curious whether these coasters have been used against hot beverages or only warm/colder beverages.

Correct – the Mod Podge on the back is just to seal the washi tape. The tiles are a little rough on the bottoms, though, so just make sure to put little felt pads on them so they don’t scratch your table :) Hope that helps!

So I received painted coasters for a gift and liquid has already seeped through the modge podge and the paint has completely peeled off. The 3 layers of modge podge on the front and back will guarantee that it won’t seep? Does the texture of tile prior to working with it make a difference? I want to remake them and use your idea, but I don’t want the same thing to happen. Thanks!

Hi Wendy! Thanks for you comment. If you want to guarantee liquid won’t seep through the modge podge, I would recommend trying to seal the coasters with an epoxy. I talk about using epoxy in this post. It takes longer to dry, but you won’t have to worry about any liquids ruining the coasters!

Hi Andrea, epoxy fully cured should be able to no problem stand up to the heat of a hot coffee mug. It starts to degrade at temps above 350 degrees, so as long as you don’t try and bake it, you should be fine :)

Hi, thanks for this idea! I’d like to make Thanksgiving trivets with clear glass tiles 6″x6″ or so…? Put the photo behind the glass, and put the felt feet or clear acrylic feet on the mod podged photo or paper. What do you think? I guess I’ll try it first before I try it with the Brownie troop! :)

This sounds like a great idea, Tonya!! My suggestion, if you’re using clear glass, would be to adhere the photo underneath, instead of on top. Since you’re working with a clear surface, you already have a built in coaster :) If you do end up trying it, we’d love to know how it turned out!

My mother has coasters with a lip around them to contain sweat. With tile, you could try cutting a small channel round the edge with a router and very small bit? Add lots of mod podge around the edges and sand the middle lower and flat? Add a material around the edges? You could make a rubber border around the photo from inner tube. That would probably be the easiest solution while still looking good.

Made quite a few of these and had students make some for mother’s day as well. To my disappointment they stick together if a bit humid and stick to the glass if there is condensation. So made more with school students and bought small plate easels from Dollar Tree so they could be for display rather than coasters.

Hi Lesa! What a great idea to make them little art pieces instead? Love it! I’m sorry you had trouble with coasters sticking – we’re going to edit this post to make another suggestion because it sounds like several people have unfortunately had this problem :(

Hi there. I’ve made several coasters. I have let the mod podge dry for a couple days before spraying with an acrylic sealer. I have then let the sealer sit for almost a week. But then when I stack the coasters, the felt dots (I put a small felt circle on each corner of the bottom) stuck to the coaster underneath and left fibers and a mark on the tops of the coasters. I let them dry for so long before stacking, what am I doing wrong? I sold some of these at a craft fair and I’m mortified that people got home and this probably happened…

Hi Kelly, thanks for your comment! I’m so sorry to hear that the coasters are sticking! When we did this project, we didn’t have any trouble with the coasters sticking, however I’m going to add an edit to the post to suggest some other coating instead of mod podge – and try to test out a few others. It seems you’re not the only one having this problem, so you’re not doing anything wrong! Stay tuned…

I had a problem with the acrylic spray ruining the colors in my photo. I used Mod Podge to coat it twice, then sprayed it to seal it. Afterward I noticed that my picture looked a bit darker after spraying the protective coating. Now 3 days later, it looks horrible! The once vibrant colors are drab and changing into ugly faded hues. They were printed at Sams Club, so I doubt its because of the way it was printed. Has anyone else had this problem? I used a clear acrylic matte coating spray from Hobby Lobby. It even says its for photographs on the can. :(

I’m confused. What or how should we print our pictures if not on traditional paper?? Did you ever solve the tacky texture problems? I was wondering if the issue was altitude and climate? Maybe the issue is too much moisture in the air?

Lauren – I used PostalPix.com to print Instagram photos directly from my phone. They have a 4×4 size that was perfect for these coasters. Altitude could possibly be the issue… it could be the reason some are having issues and others aren’t!

This is great! Can’t wait to try. Thank you for the great tutorial.
I don’t know if anyone else has post this but I saw another tutorial that someone used corkboard on the back instead of felt pads – another good idea!

Hi Sandra, sorry to hear you’re having problems! It sounds like your Mod Podge isn’t fully drying for some reason, it should dry clear. Do you live in a humid environment or applied the Mod Podge thickly? Try using thin coats, and allowing it to dry fully in between layers. If you think it’s not fully drying, you could try putting the coasters in as much direct sun as possible, in front of a fan, or into your oven on a very low temperature (keeping a close eye on it) to try and get the Mod Podge to fully dry. Does this help?

I’m planning on doing this! But wanted some advice. I need them to put on crosses (like crosses on the side of the road), that will be outside in the Texas elements. What can I use to make the photos last longer in the heat and rain?
Thanks

Hi Veronica, I would highly recommend using epoxy if you need these to last through the elements. I talked a little about using epoxy in this post: http://www.cardstore.com/blog/diy-cake-stand/. Good luck, please stop by again and let us know how it worked!

I sure will. My phone won’t allow me upload a pic of the ones I did just playing around. But they turned out fantastic! Should I use the epoxy 1st? Or after I put the mod podge on? I’m not really a “crafty” person, so I don’t even know.

I’ve actually never done epoxy over a photo, but it looks like you don’t need to use Mod Podge at all, just possibly a glue stick. I found this video that might be helpful: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=27X_z2lKtD8. Please let us know if there’s anything else we can help with. Good luck!

Hi Hannah! I don’t have experience with PVA glue, however from what I’ve read it won’t do the same job as mod podge. PVA glue is used more as a straight adhesive, while mod podge is used as a sealer (but can be used as an adhesive as well). Basically, I’m not sure if it will dry clear and non-sticky. If you do end up trying it and it works well, please let us know. Sorry I couldn’t be of more help with this!

You can also order 4×4 prints through Walgreens! They have an app which allows you to connect to your Instagram and upload your photos from there. They print on nice matte paper and are surprisingly good quality for quick printing. They often have 40% off everything photo so I wait until they have a sale and stock up! They are having one now actually, code is EVERYORDER good through dec 16,2014.

I have made these and even a year later if a cold drink is set on the coaster it sticks to it and even when you pull the drink up the coaster comes with it. Any suggestions on what I should do to them to prevent this?

Oh man, I’m so sorry to hear that, Emma! You could try applying an epoxy coating to the coasters. We’ve edited the post (near the supplies list) to suggest that. Please let us know if we can help any further!

Would epoxy or polycrylic be better for covering the top of the photo to seal it? I’ve never used either of these. I’m giving these as gifts and I just don’t want them to get ruined a couple days later!

Hi Brittany! An epoxy sealer might work better. Another reader also suggested trying dishwasher safe mod podge (who knew that was a thing??) and that the back label of mod podge actually recommends waiting 4 weeks before using to that the item completely cures :( This is quite a wait, and I’ve had really good luck with epoxy with another project. So, if you want something durable, I would definitely consider trying it! There’s a link to a post where I talk about it up under the supplies in the ‘edit’ section. Good luck!!

Thanks for a great article. I am making tile coasters using Liquitex gel medium as an adhesive and sealer. As it’s an acrylic gel, it’s waterproof which is great but I am getting the same problem as others using mod podge when it comes to putting hot drinks on the coasters – they stick. I am going to try using a heat gun on them to see if that helps but this seems to be a very common problem when making coasters and I’d love to find a fail safe solution.

I used an epoxy resin on mine and it worked great for cold beverages but hot beverages still stuck to it and left a ring. The ring does disappear but if people are selling these, the customers will not know this.

Hi Shirley, I’m so sorry your coasters didn’t work out. I’ve used epoxy on a few projects now and I know it’s REALLY important to make sure you get the measurements perfect when you mix it, and also allowing it to cure long enough. Is it possible that your mixture was slightly off and the epoxy didn’t fully cure?

At first I thought maybe I was mixing it wrong. I watched countless videos and did everything according to the directions. I also tried 4 different types of resin and all did the same thing. I scoured the internet and found many people had the same problem only with hot beverages. I even went so far as buying two coasters off etsy from two different people (my husband thought I was crazy lol) and their coasters did the same thing. After trying just about every sealer and resin out there, I find the engine sealant works the best for me. In all, I think it took me 4 to 5 months of testing to figure out what I liked best. I will say the easiest and cheapest resin came from Lowes. It also had the least amount of bubbles to deal with. I am using it for some other projects so at least it didn’t go to waste.

I just made some of these for a friends birthday and so far they look great. I put the modge podge on first, then the photo, which I printed on regular printing paper, and then applied two coats of modge podge, one applied vertically and one horizontally and the streaks are less noticeable and art looking :) afterwards I sprayed with krylon uv resistant spray and let dry overnight. So far so good. Instead of felt pads (which I didn’t find until later) I just cut circles from felt and glued on the back. So far so good!

What a great birthday gift!! So glad that you were able to make these successfully, I hope your friend liked them! Please keep me posted on how the UV resistant spray holds up, I’d love to hear if that’s a quicker option than epoxy.

I made several of these and am so upset . Not only are they sticking but I have also found while waiting for the spray acrylic to dry every airborne particles have stuck to them. I used modpodge first and then followed with the clear acrylic coating.

Oh no, Theresa…I’m so sorry to hear this! We didn’t try spray acrylic ourselves, so unfortunately I don’t know how it works. If you were to try this again, I would highly recommend doing the updated version – with epoxy – to prevent sticking and to help overall. http://www.cardstore.com/blog/how-to-make-coasters/
Again, so sorry this didn’t work :(

Hi Madison, we would recommend getting copies of the original photo if you’re worried about ruining it. But the photo should be just fine underneath that coating. I would HIGHLY recommend using our updated tutorial, http://www.cardstore.com/blog/how-to-make-coasters/. This version helps with sticking and some other issues we found that happened with this version. Best of luck!

Hi Carmen, I’m not sure how much area the mod podge covers, but 1 jar would probably be more than enough for a group. That stuff goes a long way :) However, we noticed that the mod podge doesn’t cure completely and can be sticky with glassware :( I would highly recommend trying epoxy like we did here. Good luck! Hope your group has fun making these!

THIS IS SUCH A GREAT IDEA. I HAVE SOME THAT HAVE THE PICTURES UNDER THE GLASS, BUT THIS WOULD BE NICE TO DO A 12 MONTH SET TO GIVE OUR GRANDSON AND HIS WIFE OF EVERY MONTH OF OUR GREAT GRANDSONS FIRST YEAR.
GOOD IDEA THANK YOU FOR YOUR POST

I’m using mod posh matte and making the tiles as instructed and making with pics printed on HP premium photo paper in B&W and every time I try this the picture gets a pinkish hue upon using the mod podge and completely pink where there is full white. HELP. Tired of doing it over and over again and still at square 1. Thank u.

Hi Debra, I’m so sorry that you’re experiencing problems! My guess would be it’s the color combo of the ink in printing and the mod podge is somehow smudging the red ink and that’s where the pink hue is coming from. I would highly recommend using epoxy like we did here, we had a lot of commenters say that the mod podge never fully cured and they were left with sticky coasters (not what you want!). Hopefully that works better!

Hello, my girlfriend has been making tiles lately. She was using modge podge with no trouble. She switched to using Krylon clear recently. The krylon aerosol hasn’t hardened fully and it has been 2 days. When a cup is set on the coaster it leaves an impression of the cup. Any suggestions?

I am trying to make these as christmas gifts. Has anyone used the epoxy successfully and had it withstand the heat of a hot coffee mug?
Also someone mentioned using engine sealant I was curious how that panned out?

Hi Judy, you can try it with regular printer paper, but I’m not sure how it’ll turn out? There’s a chance it might smear, I would highly recommend getting prints made through Walgreens, etc if you can. Good luck!